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Ski resorts in Cesana Torinese

Located in Italy’s Susa Valley, on the slopes of Mount Fraiteve, Cesana Torinese is a modern, purpose-built ski resort. It is one of the resorts that makes up the Milky Way ski area, and is linked with Claviere and Montgenèvre (France) on one side, and Sestriere and Sauza d’Oulx on the other.

Cesana Torinese is an attractive ski resort, divided into six villages that are permeated with traditional Alpine charm: Bousson, Désèrtes, Fénils, Mollierès, Solomiac and Thures.

The Milky Way ski pass offers approximately 400kms of ski terrain and six different resorts; of these, Cesana Torinese provides about 40kms of downhill slopes, mostly favouring intermediate skiers. Although Cesana is lower in altitude than some of its neighbouring ski resorts, its slopes extend to over 2,700m, meaning that snow conditions are usually good on the higher pistes.

Several others are furnished with artificial snow systems that are particularly helpful in the spring season. Together, Cesana Torinese and Claviere have 12 interconnected lifts, and provide skiing for beginners (20 per cent), intermediates (50 per cent) and advanced/expert skiers (30 per cent).

Cesana Torinese is a fairly small ski resort, with relatively limited facilities and nightlife. Hiking, ice-skating, ice hockey and bobsledding are alternative winter activities. For après-ski entertainment, besides the various pizzerias, small restaurants, bars and discotheques, there are interesting local handicraft and clothing shops, a covered pool and a sauna.

An interesting excursion from Cesana Torinese is to the impressive ruins of Chaberton Fortress. It stands at 3,130m, the highest fortress in Europe, and is surrounded by the exquisite scenery of the Alte Valle Dora and the Monginevro plain on the Italian side, and the Briancon dell on the French side.

The winter ski season at Cesana Torinese runs from December to April, but summer glacier skiing is also offered. The most convenient way of reaching the resort is via air travel to Turin (88kms away), with road travel to complete the journey.

Skiing in Cesana Torinese

Cesana Torinese is one of the resorts that makes up the extensive Milky Way ski area, situated high in the Susa Valley in the southwestern Alps, on the Italian side of the Italian/French border. It is made up of six charming Alpine villages: Bousson, Désèrtes, Fénils, Mollierès, Solomiac and Thures.

Cesana Torinese offers challenging skiing, good facilities, and direct access to the slopes and facilities at nearby resorts, being linked with Claviere and Montgenèvre on one side, and Sestriere and Sauza d’Oulx on the other.

Cesana Torinese forms part of the Milky Way skiing circus, made up of six resorts and featuring 400kms of pistes in total. Together, Cesana Torinese and its immediate neighbour, Claviere, provide about 85kms of downhill runs (approximately 40kms of which belong to Cesana).

They cater for all levels of skiing ability, particularly intermediates. Fifty per cent of slopes in the two linked resorts are intermediate runs, while 20 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, are geared towards beginners and advanced/expert skiers.

There are a number of challenging slopes in Cesana Torinese, but those looking for a bit of variety should take advantage of the Milky Way ski pass, which affords access to all six resorts in the area. Cesana also offers approximately 11kms of cross-country skiing, and several good off-piste trails on Mount Fraiteve, Punto Ramiere and Roc Boucher.

The winter ski season at Cesana Torinese runs from December to April, but summer glacier skiing is also offered. The resort can be reached by road, or a combination of either rail and road, or air and road.

Apres-ski in Cesana Torinese

Cesana Torinese is a purpose-built resort, and does not provide a huge number of alternatives to skiing. Hiking, ice-skating, ice hockey and bobsledding are offered. Additionally, the resort has a sauna and a covered pool, and some interesting local handicraft and clothing shops.

The villages feature a number of good eateries serving excellent Italian food and wine, ranging from traditional pizza and pasta, to impressive nouvelle cuisine. The resort places an emphasis on gastronomy, offering delectable Italian cuisine such as ‘panna cotta’, local cheeses and salamis, and ‘bunet’, a sweet made from chocolate.

Lodging is provided by a selection of hotels and pensions in Claviere and Cesana. Nightlife is generally fairly quiet, but there are a number of bars, cafés and discos to provide après-ski entertainment.

Accommodation is also fairly limited, with just over 1,000 beds in the resort, distributed between hotels and pensions. First-aid facilities are provided within the resort, and childcare amenities can be found in nearby Sansicario.

Transportation to Cesana Torinese

Cesana Torinese is situated in the southwestern Italian Alps, approximately 90kms from the city of Turin, where the closest international airport is located. If you are restricted by time, the most advisable transportation option is to fly into Turin and complete the journey to Cesana Torinese by road. However, train travel and road transportation are alternative options.

If you choose to drive to Cesana Torinese from the UK, be aware that this is a lengthy journey that involves taking a car ferry across the Channel to France, then driving on to Italy. Once you reach Italy, make your way to Turin, then take autoroute A-32 Turin-Bardonecchia-Frejus, and the Oulx exit to access Cesana Torinese.

To reach Cesana Torinese by train from the UK, you will need to take the Eurostar service from Waterloo station to Paris, from where you can connect with a direct overnight express train (run by a consortium of French and Italian trains known as Artesia) to Milan. From there, you can take the Torino-Bussoleno-Bardonecchia train line to Oulx station, and then transfer to the resort by road.

The quickest but most expensive way of reaching Cesana Torinese is to fly into the international airport at Turin and complete the journey by rail or road.

However, if your budget is unforgiving, the most affordable way of reaching the ski resort is by utilising Eurolines bus transportation (which runs to Italy from all over Europe) combined with local Italian buses.

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